This was a nicely told story, with depth, and cultural nuances, but the method of the 'murder' / attempted murder was too unrealistic and hard to believe.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I hope Pushkin translates more of Yokomizo's work and of others. Thanks..

Another great international mystery from Pushkin Press! They are very good in bringing solid authors from world other to English-speaking readers. This is a classic tale and a first in a series. Hopefully, more will follow.

This is the new 2019 English translation of a Japanese writer Yokomizo’s fictional crime story published in 1973. The narrator, also a crime writer is investigating a “true crime” event that took place in 1937 and this is his recounting of the tale. A senior policeman DI Isokawa is brought into the area but is helped by a friend and private investigator Kindaichi to unravel the mystery. Initially suspicion will fall on a stranger, the enigmatic, masked “three fingered man”. When the deaths are investigated if they cannot be a simple suicide murder then they must have been deeply planned – where did the killer get his ideas from? The whole tale has references to international crime fiction authors and plots. Is it co-incidental that the house library holds a large selection of crime novels? Or is there something deeper going on? When Isokawa and Kindaichi start to work out how the killings were carried out they can then start to identify the guilty party. But crime does not operate in a vacuum so the author explores what was the motive at both the immediate and deeper level.
The deaths take place on the wedding night of Kenzo, eldest son of the Ichiyanagi family and Katsuko of the Kubo family at the groom’s family estate. The reference to Honjin refers to the family’s previous traditional role as keepers of a Honjin – an inn for royal or aristocratic travellers. The family are very proud of this aristocratic heritage. Katsuko comes from a family of “tenant” farmers, albeit that her uncle, and late father, made a great deal of money as businessmen in America before returning to Japan. His niece is therefore both wealthy and cultured. Kenzo, 40, needing a family heir had insisted on the wedding to his younger bride in spite of family objections. We are taken through the preparations and ceremonies of a traditional wedding being introduced to al the main characters of both families. Shortly after the married couple are left alone screams are heard and when others break into the locked annexe both bride and groom are found dead.
Without giving away the plot, the process that the investigators went through is then detailed as the investigators check, motive, capacity, intentions etc. As all the family “witnesses” are questioned the reader is able to build a picture of the place in its historic time, of the deeper nuances of the family lives and the stresses and disagreements. A number of possible suspects emerge as the tale inevitably becomes deeper and more multi layered.
It should be said that towards the end “all shall be revealed” in the classic (and less believable) moment when all parties sit down with the investigators and the latter reveal exactly how it was done and who was responsible. But if you accept the nature of early historic crime fiction with its nuances and practices then that might be OK with you. Because of the sheer complexity of the plot it must be said that this is the heaviest part of the novel and perhaps the weakest too.
Around the murder and procedurals Yokomizo graphically depicts an already old fashioned, or almost obsolete, family life style. But the depiction of a “foreign” place either by geography or time is part of the attraction for this reader. The picture he builds of the surrounding rural landscape is lush and beautiful and very visual too. But the greatest skill is in his depiction of the people, sympathetic to some, but quietly critical of others whose lack of generosity of spirit and kindness does not go unnoticed. This is an interesting read, albeit already a little dated at the time of its first publication of a novel that will, until this translation, have passed most people by.

An extremely intricately woven vlosed-door murder mystery set in Japan. This was one of my first ever murder mystery reads and while I like the creativity and setting, I don't think murder mysteries are "my thing".
It was entertaining and I don't regret venturing out and trying new genres, but I believe I stick with fantasy and fiction.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

Originally written in 1973 and translated into English for the first time, this is a novel for mystery lovers. Introducing the character of Detective Kosuke Kindaichi, The Honjin Murders is a locked room mystery that openly pays homage to the classics that inspired it. Examining the mechanics that make these novels tick, the author writes a plot that's unique, even if it follows all the rules. The characters are the weak spot, more constructs of the typical suspects than real people, but their backstories are interesting. I didn't figure out whodunit or how it was done. Some clues were obvious (on purpose) but others were unexpected. The story is also a fascinating look into another time and place. Fans of mystery novels will enjoy it profusely.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ Pushkin Vertigo!

A classic murder mystery in translation.A mystery in the style of Agatha Christie & Sherlock Holmes.I will be recommending to mystery lovers .#netgalley#pushkinpress

“Usually when people tell me these kinds of tales, they never turn out to be as interesting to me as they are to the teller, much less potential material for a book. But this case was different . . . This was no ordinary murder. The perpetrator had scrupulously planned the whole ghastly deed. What’s more, it was worthy of the label ‘Locked Room Murder Mystery.'”

The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo was first published in 1946, and is the first of many Kosuke Kindaichi novels. Now, it’s being translated into English for the first time (by Louise Heal Kawai), and fans of Golden Age mystery and detective novels should get their hands on a copy.

The story focuses on a double murder: a newlywed couple are found killed inside their locked room, with the murder weapon, a katana, outside in the snow. How did the killer get in, kill them both, and get out? Only one of the finest detectives in Japan, Kosuke Kindaichi, can figure this one out.

I was a little wary starting this book. It’s often referred to as a classic Japanese murder mystery, and I tend to dislike “classic” novels. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The translation was incredibly well done, and the flow of the writing was wonderful. I was immediately pulled in to the story, and had no problems visualizing the house where the crime took place. I was totally captivated, and the plot kept me on my toes.

The author drops hints throughout the entire story, but there are still elements of mystery throughout the book. There are enough red herrings to keep you guessing, and be skeptical of all the characters involved. Even if you’re able to figure out the twist, the atmosphere of the novel is still enough to keep you hooked until the end.

One aspect of the book that I really loved was how other mystery authors and popular books are referenced. One of the characters loves detective novels, and has a library full of books. It felt a bit surreal to be reading a crime novel that references Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (among others), and made my reading experience even more enjoyable.

The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo has been recommended to fans of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, and I couldn’t agree more. It has everything a western mystery does, but takes place in Japan instead.

Thank you to the publisher (Pushkin Press) for an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. The Honjin Murders will be available on on June 2, 2020, and can be pre-ordered or purchased wherever books are sold.

3.5 stars. These are strange times, so let's go somewhere else together instead. Somewhere like provincial Japan in the late 1930s: a world still struggling to free itself from the legacies of feudal hierarchies, in which a shocking crime offers a brilliant young detective the chance to make his literary debut. I didn't recognise Kosuke Kindaichi's name, but he has a devoted following in Japan and appeared in a whole series of Yokomizo's novels after this, his first appearance, in 1946. Unfortunately, The Honjin Murders (translated by Louise Heal Kawai) is at present one of only two Kindaichi novels available in English; the other, The Inugami Curse, is also available from Pushkin Vertigo. Let's hope that these two books are successful and encourage Pushkin to get the rest translated, because on the basis of The Honjin Murders they're going to be mind-scrambling, very entertaining classic crime stories. 

The place: Okayama Prefecture. The time: November 1937. The Ichiyanagi family once ran an elegant honjin or upmarket inn for imperial couriers and noble travellers in feudal times. Now their honjin has become their home: a comfortable but isolated mansion, in which the new generation of Ichiyanagi are trying to combine modern attitudes with the deeply ingrained values of the past. Happier times are on the cards, because the middle-aged heir Kenzo - a reserved scholar - has finally decided to marry. Determined to find a woman with intelligence, he has settled on Katsuko, a well-educated schoolteacher from a modest background. While the bride's qualities aren't in doubt, Kenzo's family are horrified by her low birth - but it's now too late to do anything about it. The wedding day comes and the family gathers, with Katsuko's uncle Ginzo, to celebrate the ceremony. The newlyweds stay up most of the night drinking and mingling with the family's tenants, as is customary, and then they go to bed. Just a few hours later, the night is split by a horrific scream. When the family break into the locked annexe in which the bride and groom were to spend the night, they find the newlyweds slaughtered. There is surely no way in or out, and no footprints in the new snow around the annexe. Who could possibly have wanted to murder these two? And how can a murderer possibly have escaped from a locked room without leaving a single trace?

Inspector Isokawa of the local police is summoned to help. He slowly begins to tease out the relationships between the members of this reserved family, and to pinpoint some of the case's curiosities. For example, why was the murder accompanied by the music of a koto, a traditional Japanese string instrument (and a favourite instrument of the family). Who could have had a motive to kill Kenzo and Katsuko in such a horrible way? Who is hiding something? The stoical matriarch, Itoko? Kenzo's younger siblings Saburo, with his fascination for detective novels, or simple Suzuko, grieving for her dead kitten? What of the members of the cadet branch of the family, Ryosuke and Akiko, who also live on site? And who is the mysterious three-fingered man who came to the village shortly before the wedding, asking directions to the Ichiyanagi house? Some gruesome discoveries in the locked room soon make this three-fingered man a figure of particular interest... but Inspector Isokawa's investigations are about to take an unexpected turn. For Katsuko's uncle Ginzo has a young friend - an amateur detective, who has already made a name for himself through his brilliant deductions. Determined to solve the mystery, Ginzo sends out the word and soon Kosuke Kindaichi comes to town. He may be scruffy, distracted, excitable and certainly not the poised, respectful figure that you'd expect... but he gets the job done. And Kosuke begins to unravel a remarkable sequence of events that leads to a denouement no one could have predicted.

Now, I'll be frank: I found the solution so unpredictable that I actually found it hard to accept, but that doesn't take away from the entertainment factor. What made the book especially enjoyable, for me, was Yokomizo's endearing geekiness about detective fiction as a genre. Although he's a writer, telling us a story in that genre, he keeps breaking off to make connections to other classic crime novels - he mentions Agatha Christie, of course, but A.A. Milne's The Red House Mystery is a particular favourite. At one point, early in the novel, he playfully lists all the classic crime stories which have some similarity to the story he's about to tell us, adding - with an undoubted twinkle:

"But this real-life case wasn't quite like any of the above-mentioned. Maybe, just maybe, the killer had read a selection of stories like these, dissected all of the different devices used, then picked out the elements that he needed, constructing his own device..."

Yokomizo shares his fascination with the young Saburo, who has managed to amass a dizzying library full of every detective story published in Japan, 'both domestic and foreign', Yokomizo assures us. Fortunately, the bright Kosuke is also something of a devotee. By constantly drawing our attention to the novel's place in a wider genre of literature, Yokomizo makes a claim for himself as part of a genealogy of crime writers and cheerfully lays out his influences, inspirations and favourites. It makes the story feel rather modern and pleasantly multi-layered: a crime novel, full of digressions about crime novels, surely delivered with a wink and a smile. Yet Yokomizo's novel has a darkness and a gruesomeness to it that isn't shared by the other (British) Golden Age novels I've read. It is all bound up with the Japanese psyche, especially at that period in history, where people felt trapped between traditional values and the hope of a more open, honest future. It makes for a rather unique feel.

Certainly recommended to those who fancy trying out some classic Japanese fiction to complement the British Library's burgeoning Crime Classics series. And it also makes an interesting comparison to the modern crime genre in Japanese literature, which often shares its gruesomeness but not its knowing sense of humour. In times like these, we need a bit of escapism, and you might find that Kosuke Kindaichi's sparkling insights (beautifully translated) are just the thing to distract you from the all-too-gloomy news.

For the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2020/03/19/the-honjin-murders-seishi-yokomizo/

Thank you Net Galley. A wonderful book. A solid, old fashioned murder mystery that keeps you enthralled right to the end. Loved it.

If there’s anything I love better than chocolate it’s a deliciously atmospheric crime/mystery novel. So, it is with great anticipation that I began reading The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo. To add to my excitement the locked room mystery came with a heritage. Originally published in 1946, it is the first book in the renowned series of Japanese detective stories by Yokomizo.

The Honjin Murders turned out to be quite a page turner, and I finished it in two days. With books like these it’s the journey that matters and not the destination. In other words, although I had an idea of who the murderer would be it didn’t dampen my reading pleasure. The elaborate setting, the details of family history, quirky characters, and the mere fact that this was a historical Japanese crime novel (you don’t get too many of those!) made it a really wonderful read.

Clearly, Yokomizo relishes in building layers and nuanced details as we can see from the descriptions of each of the important characters. The honjin, an inn for the well-heeled, where the story is set is also like a dynamic character, interacting with its residents and visitors in different ways. Weaving all these elements with much dexterity, Yokomizo constructs a really engaging whodunnit following in the footsteps of other famous writers like Gaston Leroux and Arthur Conan Doyle, a fact that the omniscient narrator acknowledges right at the beginning.

Yokomizo creates his own equivalent of a Sherlock or a Poirot too in the young and eccentric detective Kosuke Kindaichi. While the first half of the novel is dedicated to pulling apart the situation and surmising from various characters, the second half moves faster with Kindaichi appearing on the scene. He goes around collecting apparently unrelated titbits of information that leaves everyone around him, including the police officers, puzzled until it all comes together in a wonderful whole. I found the explanation slightly complicated but once I had figured out everything I needed to know about a koto it was better.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Honjin Murders and it wouldn’t have been possible without the superb translation from Louise Heal Kawai. I am waiting to read the next Kindaichi mystery soon!

A big thank you to Pushkin Press for sending me this ARC for an honest review.

I am reading more books that have been translated from their original language - and not just detective fiction. In this instance, I was drawn to the "locked door" mystery and was interested to see how this was interpreted.

This setting, in 1930s Japan, sees a seemingly impossible murder committed on the night of a wedding. Whilst the police investigate, one of the wedding guests calls in the services of renown private detective Kosuke Kindaichi who is described as ".. ungainly [in] manner, wild, [with] dishevelled hair and a stammer..." and man who ".. enjoyed putting on a show ..".

As we are propelled along with the investigation, Kindaichi seemingly takes over and many clues come to light and mysteries are solved. The final denoument occurs about three quarters of the way in and is covered off in the last few chapters.

What I enjoyed was the reflective beginnings to this tale, told ten years after the fact and utilising facts garnered from the original investigation - so a little bit of back and forth in the timeline.

The Honjin Murders is part of a series of detective stories from Japan. Originally published in the 1970s Honjin Murders falls into the vane of Agatha Christie murder mysteries. It is all about the evidence that leads to the answer. It is a refreshing read in the age of psychological thrillers. While the murderer should have been obvious I did not guess it and I think that is because of the less familiar style of mystery.

One of the other unique things about this story is that it is from the perspective of the author and none of the characters. The narrative actually takes place several years after the case which adds an interesting take on it and makes you view the story from a different place. There are hints throughout and comparisons from the murder scene now to then. The hindsight view is interesting yet even with the hints I did not go there.

If you want something different in style and want to read something foreign (maybe learn a little about Japanese history and culture) definitely pick this one up.

I received an ARC of 'The Honjin Murders' (translated) from Pushkin Vertigo via Netgalley in return for an honest review.
I've heard of this classic murder mystery from Japan and have been eager for an opportunity to read it in English. Finally, I have a chance thanks to Netgalley. The setting for the storyline is a wedding taking place in the village of Okamura. By the time of the murder, the reader is already aware of the divisions between the locals and those from the more upscale community nearby and of course the long existing divisions within the Ichiyanagi family, even before the wedding was announced.
When the new bride and groome are murdered hours after their wedding and found locked inside their bedroom, a classic 'locked room' mystery commences.
The story is narrated by the amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi, who is requested to investigate the case.
Many of the beloved elements of the classic English murder mysteries are present here: a mysterious stranger, a locked room, unknown alliances and divisions between the potential suspects etc. This story is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie etc.
The translation Louise Heal Kawai flows beautifully and helps to paint a picture of the atmosphere.

A fun book, definitely worth a read. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, but it surpassed my expectations. I find the story well written (and translated), immersive, and entertaining. Prime reading experience.

As soon as I noticed this book on Netgalley, I had to request it as it's not only published by Pushkin Press (I've loved their translated fiction in the past) but it also has a gorgeous cover and I have been a more than a little intrigued by all things related to Japan recently so it has the perfect ARC to request. I haven't read any Japanese fiction other than manga and now I'm intrigued to read more as I loved so many elements of this read.

We follow the Ichiyanagi family as they prepare to celebrate the wedding of the eldest son but tragedy strikes as both the bride and groom are found murdered. The plot is a classic 'locked door mystery', similar to the style of mysteries by Agatha Christie so naturally I loved the detective/mystery element. I also loved the time period, the setting (as I haven't read enough fiction set in Japan) and I liked the writing style which was more modern than I thought it would be.

There were so many elements of this book that I loved, particularly the eerie elements (the koto...), the mystery and the tone of the book as well as the explanations of Japanese culture and interiors. Sadly, I found it a little too slow at times but overall I think that if you like classic detective/murder mystery books then you'll also like this newly translated read.

Interesting translated murder that reminded me of some of the classics. Closed door mysteries are always fun.

A 1948 vintage locked-room mystery that pays homage to the classics while adding a decidedly Japanese twist to the puzzle.

The mystery revolves around the head of the Ichiyanagi family (finally!) marrying a bride below his station (yes, this is 1937, pre-WW II Japan). After the ceremonies, during the wedding night, screams are heard, along with the playing of a koto in the early hours of the morning. When the family rushes to the building, they find it locked tight, with the bride and groom slaughtered inside. Disappointed with the local police, the bride’s uncle calls in his protégé Kosuke Kindaichi, a young, disheveled, clever private detective who quickly earns the cooperation of the police and figures out the mystery.

This is Kindacichi’s first appearance, with 70+ more stories to follow. Mr. Seishi does a great job of introducing the characters and setting the scenes which could have been difficult to understand due to the cultural differences (not to mention the passage of time!). My only criticism is the narrative style that Mr. Seishi uses, that of a famous mystery author writing down the true crime many years after the fact from second hand accounts, gets a little bit distracting at times, especially when he calls out specific authors and novels, or scolds the reader for not figuring out the mystery.

But overall a great quick read. I will be looking for the remainder Kindaichi books in the future.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Pushkin Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

"In all his years on this earth he never had and never would again experience a shock like this one. Even though in this case alone there were still many more grisly discoveries to come, nothing would come close to the sheer horror of this moment."

This was a fun, bite-sized read! Perfect for a cozy night in with a blanket and cup of tea on cold winter's night. I was pleasantly surprised by how self-aware this novel was. Both as a mystery and as a product of Japanese culture. The author often writes directly to you, the reader and explains elements of the story directly to you. The author clues you in to mystery tropes that — if you're like me and aren't an avid mystery reader — you might not pick up. He will even go so far as to mention other authors and works in comparison, though never implying the events of this novel aren't real. This same tactic was also very helpful to me in understanding the Japanese language and customs used in the story. I'm not sure if this was done by the author knowing he would have a Western audience of if it was done by the translator. If the latter, I thought it was seamlessly!

The plot itself isn't something that completely blew me away, which frankly, I didn't expect it to given how long ago it was published and how much the genre has been expounded on in the years since. There were some twists that surprised me and I was kept guessing for most of the story. I enjoyed the method of storytelling as well, as a compilation of a crime being relayed years after the event. The whole tone exuded an old-time mystery charm. I'm glad to see this series being translated and will most likely be picking up more of the series as it's released!

There are lots of helpful reviews for this. I recommend it overall for a pretty good mystery. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

The Honjin Murders has been translated by Louise Heal Kawai and published by Pushkin Press, and finally brings to English-speaking readers, 74 years after its publication, the first novel in the Kosuke Kindaichi detective series, published by what the Guardian calls "the locked-room mystery king" Seishi Yokomizo (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/06/how-locked-room-mystery-king-seishi-yokomizo-english-agatha-christie).

Rather cleverly the author has his narrator, telling the story sometime after the events described, themselves be a detective novel writer, and one of the main characters in the mystery a keen student of the genre, so that:

"When I first heard the story, I immediately racked my brain to think of any similar cases among all the novels I’ve read. The first that came to mind were Gaston Leroux’s The Mystery of the Yellow Room and Maurice Leblanc’s The Teeth of the Tiger; then there’s The Canary Murder Case and The Kennel Murder Case, both by S.S. Van Dine; and finally, Dickson Carr’s The Plague Court Murders. I even considered that variation on the locked room murder theme of Roger Scarlett’s Murder Among the Angells.

But this real-life case wasn’t quite like any of the above-mentioned. Maybe, just maybe, the killer had read a selection of stories like these, dissected all of the different devices used, then picked out the elements that he needed, constructing his own device..."

Given the narrator's approach, he also provides the reader helpful signposts to see if they can solve the puzzle:

"I mentioned a brokendown waterwheel on the stream that ran along the west side of the Ichiyanagi property. Well, at the time of the story, the mill was still in operation, and Shokichi would come early every morning to hull and polish the rice. As you will discover later, this would prove crucial to the mystery."

But in practice the reader remains as baffled as the police, until the entry of Kosuke Kindaichi, "this young detective with his ungainly manner, wild, dishevelled hair and stammer", who would go on to star in 76 more books:

"He had something of the Antony Gillingham about him. Please, Ladies and Gentlemen, don’t be confused by my sudden throwing out of a foreign-sounding name—this is the lead character in the detective novel The Red House Mystery by my favourite British author, A.A. Milne. Antony Gillingham was also an amateur detective. Milne first introduces the character of Antony Gillingham with these words: He is an important person to this story, so that it is as well we should know something about him before letting him loose in it."

It has to be said the solution to the mystery is implausibly complicated and some of the character's behaviour rather artificial to help set up the puzzle: when hearing, in the early hours, blood-curling screams coming from a building containing their loved ones, most relatives' reaction isn't to first carefully check the surrounding scene for footprints or any other sign of entry or exit.

But this will likely appeal to fans of the classic detective novels on which the author has so affectionately drawn.

And the delight of the puzzle to English-language readers is how much it draws on Japanese culture and history, a traditional musical instrument for example playing a key role, all carefully explained. I'm interested whether the translator has added glosses of their own, or whether Seishi Yokomizo's original (published in 1948 but describing a pre-WW2 story from 1937) also did this, but either way it makes for an informative and fascinating read. For example explaining the building giving the novel its title:

"A honjin was a kind of inn in feudal Japan where daimyo lords and other important officials would stay on their way to or from paying attendance on the Shogun in the capital, Edo—the old name for Tokyo. Ordinary members of the public were not permitted to stay at a honjin. A family who owned such a high-class lodging house were also members of the elite, and so it followed that this was a place where the rules of high society were closely adhered to."

3.5 stars - not my normal fare in literature in translation, but a fine example of what it does. Rating 4 here reflecting that although my GR rating reflects more my personal taste.